


Brainfreeze

by nolifeisenough



Category: The Space Between Us
Genre: F/M, i'll probably do a real fic for this someday, this is short and stupid but a scene i would have rlly loved to see in this movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 08:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11376720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nolifeisenough/pseuds/nolifeisenough
Summary: Gardner hasn't experienced much.





	Brainfreeze

“Okay.”

The car comes to a screeching halt a mere foot from the gas station’s brick walls. Gardner’s nails dig into the seat of the car, but Tulsa is already unbuckling her seatbelt. She opens the car door, the scent of gasoline wafting in. He wrinkles his nose.

“I need to take a piss. You’re going to stay in the car and stay out of trouble, got it?”

Gardner looks out the window, confusion evident on his face, amongst the shock. He looks like she’d just spat on his mother’s grave. “Where?”

“Inside, spaceboy. I need to a little more confidence that you’re not gonna just wander off before I go in, though.”

He’s barely listening, sticking his head out the window to get a better look. He’d seen places like this in movies, but he couldn’t quite place what it was. Gardner squints at the sign. It has no text, just a giant clamshell. He perks up immediately, turning back to Tulsa. He smacks his forehead on the car as he ducks back in, but he’s too excited to notice. “Do they sell ICEEs here?”

“Here and every other gas station in North America, yeah. I’ll get you one if you stay in the car.” She’s bouncing in the driver’s seat. “Okay?”

Gardner nods ecstatically. “Alright!” 

Tulsa gets out of the car and bolts inside. He turns up the radio and leans back in his seat, daydreaming about his first ICEE. 

It’s not long before another car pulls up alongside his and Tulsa’s. It’s a minivan, looks to be an old model too. He doubts it’s even equipped with an autopilot feature. The first person to get out is a heavyset woman. Her hair is greying, but she doesn’t seem to have accumulated many wrinkles over her lifetime. She looks like she smiles a lot. The next person to get out, though, is what really captured Gardner’s interest and completely tears him away from his thoughts of sugary red slush. 

The first thing he notices is his height. He looks no taller than four feet. He has black, curly hair and blue stained lips, presumably from the sucker in his hand. There’s pencil lead residue smeared on his cheek and on his red tshirt. He’s grinning as he runs up beside his mother to join her. 

Was Gardner ever that short? He recalls a time when Kendra was taller than him, but it seems unreal. Yet, here this kid is, barely standing tall enough to meet his mother’s ribcage. He feels sad, suddenly. He remembers wishing for peers, as a kid. He’s never felt equal to anyone, because really, no one else has been in his position before. He was more of a pet in East Texas than a citizen. 

Gardner leans out the window before the two can get inside, “What’s your name?” he calls loudly. The mother turns towards him with a questioning look, as if to ask if he were talking to her. “What’s your son’s name?” He calls again.

“Excuse-”

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” Tulsa interrupts, coming out of the station with two disposable cups in hand. “He’s, uh, really confused.”

“I’m not-”

“Sorry again!” Tulsa calls as she gets in the car. Her eyes land on Gardner. “What did I say?” 

“To stay in the car and you’ll get me an ICEE.” He takes the drink from her hand, taking a long drink of it. He halts after a few seconds, “Ow…” he holds his head.

“Brainfreeze, dumb-dumb. And I also said to stay out of trouble. Jesus, it’s like you’ve never talked to a human being before today.” Tulsa has the hint of a smile on her face.

“What’s wrong with asking someone’s name?”

“You’re not asking someone’s name, you’re asking a kid’s name. That’s creepy, dude.”

Gardner frowns, “Why?”

“Just drink your goddamn ICEE before I chuck it out the window.” Tulsa starts up the car again, backing out of the lot.

“We didn’t have kids on Mars. I mean, besides me.”

A groan. “Really? We’re doing this again? With the Mars thing?”

“We didn’t! I’ve never even seen one outside of movies.”

Tulsa rolls her eyes. He takes a slower, more careful sip of his drink. 

“We didn’t have ICEEs on Mars.”

“I’m really looking forward to finding out what your life has actually been like for the past sixteen years to make you this insane.”

“We didn’t have pretty girls like you, either.”

“Oh my god.”


End file.
